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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24753049">When It's All Over</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/favworstdream/pseuds/favworstdream'>favworstdream</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, F/M, Horcrux Hunting, Non-Canon Relationship, Post-War, Romance, Sad Ending, Two Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:33:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,972</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24753049</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/favworstdream/pseuds/favworstdream</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As Hermione Granger thought she would finally get the peaceful ending she wanted after the war, Draco Malfoy seemed to think otherwise. </p><p>“Do you remember what you told me then?” She asked with a nostalgic smile on her lips. </p><p>“Do you really think I could forget that easily?” He scoffed mockingly, but couldn’t stop a confused look to cover his face, wondering where she could possibly be going with this.  </p><p>“I’m not saying you did, Draco. I’m just waiting for you to act on it.” She shot him an amorous look, which quickly got replaced by a troubled one.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first work in english, so it might not be perfect, but I hope people will enjoy it either way ! It was supposed to be a one shot, but i felt inspired to write a second part, which will come later. Consider leaving kudos or comments if you liked it !</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She was looking at him. She couldn’t take her gaze off him. “Do you remember when I asked you about what you’d do after the war?”</p><p>There was a pause. He frowned before looking up at her. “I guess I do.”</p><p>She couldn’t help but notice how tired he looked. The scar on his cheek was almost gone, but she could have traced its shape with closed eyes.</p><p>The war had been harsh on him. She could still remember the time he told her how scared he was of everything. She had held his hands and wiped his tears, listened to his story and his sobs and let him fall asleep against her once he was too exhausted to go on. She had watched him sleep for a few moments, waiting for him to wake up in the middle of another horrendous nightmare, but he didn’t. Not that night, not the night she had whispered him hundreds of times it would be okay and kissed the scar on his cheek. She had ended up falling asleep as well, and woke up in his arms. Her night had been peaceful; she hadn’t woken up in the middle of the night either. From that moment on, the blond would always wait until Ron and Harry were asleep to leave his bed and join her.</p><p>“Do you remember what you told me then?” She asked with a nostalgic smile on her lips.</p><p>“Do you really think I could forget that easily?” He scoffed mockingly, but couldn’t stop a confused look to cover his face, wondering where she could possibly be going with this.</p><p>“I’m not saying you did, Draco. I’m just waiting for you to act on it.” She shot him an amorous look, which quickly got replaced by a troubled one.</p><p>Her sudden request seemed to shock him him as he let go of her hand and stood up. He was standing next to the fire, in what used to be Sirius’s house, which now belonged to Harry, and she was watching him closely while his conflicted grey eyes were getting lost in the flames in front of them. He finally answered in a slow voice after a couple of minutes:</p><p>“You thought that was serious? You seriously think it could happen?” He looked back at her, incredulous, seeming to be wondering if she had gone crazy or if she was just making a bad joke.</p><p>She was surprised by his sudden change of heart, and felt herself twinge, but she got up as well. He must have noticed she looked hurt because his expression softened as he came back to her side and grabbed her hand again. They didn’t fight a lot; actually, she couldn’t even remember fighting with him once since they left Hogwarts and went looking for horcruxes, living in a tent for months with only him and her two best friends to talk to.</p><p>“I’m- I just said that because...” He wasn’t looking at her, trying to find the words, and she felt her throat tighten a bit more.</p><p>“Because you didn’t think we’d get to live enough to get there and actually do it? Because you didn’t even think we would survive?” She yanked her hand away to wipe a lone tear sliding down her face.</p><p>He didn’t try to deny it and cupped her face with his hands instead. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Of course you are.” She tried pushing him away, a bitter smile on her lips, but he pulled her close once more. “Leave it. I’m fine.”</p><p>“Hermione, this wouldn’t work out. We wouldn’t work out. We were at war, when it happened…when we happened. You were lost, and so was I. But we’d probably kill each other before getting to be together because no one is going to accept it and you know it. Your friends pretended I wasn’t there because they had more important business going on, but now no one is going to pretend anymore. And I can’t live like this.”</p><p>“So you were lying to me the whole time? What was it for you, a game?” She softly asked, looking away knowing her eyes were filling with tears. “If not a game, then what? Comfort? A shoulder to cry on?”</p><p>“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just didn’t think that…” He looked away for a few seconds, looking for the right words, before focusing back on her. “That you thought of us seriously. I thought we wanted the same thing.”</p><p>“And what was that? Because I’m pretty sure we don’t.” She sniffed sadly.</p><p>“I don’t know! Just…a nice time…” His eyes widened, realizing what he had just said. “Granger…” But she was already grabbing her coat and putting on her shoes.</p><p>“If a nice shag was all it was about, I think we’re done here.”</p><p>He was looking at her with eyes full of remorse, and maybe, she thought, a glimpse of affection. But it couldn’t be, because they wouldn’t be having that conversation right now if it had been the case, if he had been willing to give up on her so easily; if he never meant to stay.</p><p>“It wasn’t just simply about that-“</p><p>But as he called her name again, she shut the door behind her, disappearing in the dark summer night, tears sliding down her cheeks</p><p> </p><p>...</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“What will you do once the war is over?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She was sitting next to him on her bed, while he curled strands of her hair around his fingers. Her eyes were closed; she wasn’t ready to get up yet and to be disappointed once more as they realized they had no ideas on how to destroy the locket. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Assuming we’d win?” She couldn’t see him, but knew a sly smile was forming on his lips. The lips she longed to kiss again, but she didn’t’ want to startle him so she enjoyed what she could get from him, what he allowed himself to give her. He was hurt; they both were. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“We are going to win, Malfoy. We have to believe we’ll win this war and finally live in a normal world, where we sleep in actual houses and not tents located in random forests of the United Kingdom.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He caressed her head softly and looked down at her thoughtfully. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I think I’d try to make it right. Us. Start over, blackmail you to get you to move in with me...“ </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She laughed and hit him playfully. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Malfoy! Seriously, what would you do?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Before she could ask him again, he pulled her closer and pressed his lips against her. The kiss was slow and soft, full of promises he wasn’t even sure he could keep. She relaxed against him and put both her hands on his torso, grabbing his shirt to pull him closer. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>”I’d probably ask you to marry me.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>They both smiled and the brunette slowly nodded, before pushing him on the bed. “Sounds like an amazing plan.”</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A month. Hermione managed to avoid Draco Malfoy for a whole month before having to see his face again. That day started like any others. She woke up, tried not to think about him unsuccessfully and went on for the rest of the day with any activities she could come up with to avoid pondering back to the grey-eyed wizard. She was overwhelming herself in an attempt to forget the broken promises and his insincere kisses, and it was pretty scary to witness how much it didn’t work and how hard she was failing. She couldn’t even focus on books for Merlin’s sake! Any Romeos reminded her of her own, and she longed for those perfect novel passionate kisses.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As she got out of bed that day, she still thought she could find something to distract her from him. Luckily enough, she had gotten a letter from Harry, telling her to join him and Ron over to 12 Grimmauld Place. She simply got ready and left after carelessly putting some comfortable clothes on.</p>
<p>As she was about to knock on the wooden door, she suddenly ran into him and found herself blushing furiously while glancing sideways to avoid his stare. She frankly hadn’t thought she would see him and let out an uncomfortable “hello” before quickly skirting next to him, allowing her eyes to wander over his face for a few seconds; he seemed incredibly tired and even paler than he normally did. She did miss him, but chased that thought away before storming inside. She made her way through the house and finally looked up at her two best friends, sitting at the kitchen table while entering the room. She cleared her throat before asking in a stiff voice:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Care to explain what Dra- Malfoy was doing here? He was just leaving as I got here, what was he doing here?” She asked in a voice that reflected how infuriated she was to find him <em>here<strong>. </strong></em>The two boys shared a knowing look and the young witch curled her lips, quite frustrated not to know what was happening and what they were keeping her in the dark about. “What do you two know that I don’t?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Chills went down her spine when she heard a trailing voice, that voice, the one she could never forget about even if she tried. The one that was playing over and over again her head for the last month, no matter how hard she tried to shut it up. “Nothing I allowed them to tell you about, Granger.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She shifted from one side to the other before awkwardly turning to face the door where he stood. And he was there, as handsome as ever, leaning against the doorframe, a usual hand in his pocket. He was there, but also he wasn’t, not really. His gaze was absent, and she herself felt him to be far away. He was too far to be really there; too far from her, truly. What good could it possibly be to her to be in the same room as him if she couldn’t reach for him and hold him tight again, run her fingers through his pale hair while he whispered in her ear how much he cared for her. But those were all lies, as he admitted it himself, so she did her best to gather enough courage to answer him, and maybe make his snarky expression disappear, as well as his hurtful presence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Care to enlighten me yourself, then?” Her voice was too high for her to act relaxed, and he seemed to notice it as his lips turned into an amused smirk.                                                            </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He took several steps towards her and only stopped when she started backing down. “See, I asked them to ask you to come here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She only felt her irritation grow; she wanted an explanation and wanted it now. She raised her chin up and glared back at him. “And why would you do that?”</p>
<p>His eyes were now fixated on hers; they were cold, but she could see a glimpse of excitement, the kind he had when, back then, she would sometimes join him in his bed to just snog him senseless and then curl up against him to read whatever book she had. “Because that was the only way to get you to come here. And I was right, wasn’t I? You came.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She desperately sighed. “Awesome. Wonderful. Well, congratulations, you used them as bait to get me to come here and now I’m here, so what do you want?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He rolled his eyes and quietly gestured to the two boys watching them to leave the room. The Boy Who Lived and his best mate exited with sorry looks to the brunette, who quickly looked back to the man who used to be her lover, still standing a few inches away from her. When the door finally closed the coldness and in his eyes vanished to be quickly replaced by some sorts of sweet anticipation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hermione…” He slowly took a few small steps towards her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She crossed her arms. “You can stay where you are,” she quietly asked, but he kept moving to reach her. “Draco, please don’t… You’ve done enough. We’re through, and you told me so yourself so just- just stop. Please.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He listened to her and the look on his face mirrored her own sadness doing so. Even now, after crying for hours over him and repeating to herself that he wasn’t worth it, Hermione could still feel her heart shatter when he showed any signs of sorrow. But she wasn’t supposed to care anymore.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I asked you to come so I could properly apologize.” He admitted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There is nothing to apologize about. Really, Malfoy, you’re making a lot of fuss for nothing. You had fun; it was great while it lasted. But now, it’s time to come back to reality, or whatever bullshit it is you tell yourself to sleep at night.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her sudden swearing seemed to shock him as much as it shocked her, but his gladden smile couldn’t stop a bewildered look to cover his fake. “No matter how much I enjoy dirty talk, especially when it’s you, you’re not fooling me. I know I hurt you and I’m…” He sighed while looking around, wondering for a few seconds whether he would actually say it or not before carrying on. “…I’m sorry.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sorry?” She scoffed. She couldn’t believe a word of what she was hearing, but before she could go on with her indifferent act, the words came flooding out of her mouth. “You’re incredible! Sorry is something you say when…you spill red wine all over the carpet! Not when you propose to someone who’s madly in love with you, with no intents to carry on with that stupid promise!” She could fill her eyes filling with tears and closed them before he could notice how close she was from sobbing, and how much he hurt her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When she opened them again after a short moment, he looked lost, like he had no idea what to answer to her sudden emotional outburst. She hated how weak he made her, and how only a few words from his mouth would make her dramatically declare her undying, unrequited love.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s fine, I don’t expect anything from you anymore…” She sadly looked away as he cut her off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hermione, I really am sorry. I’ve been thinking about you every day, you haunt my mind and you haunt my dreams, and I hate that I hurt you, because I know I did and I know you’ve been avoiding me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s too late now anyways, and I appreciate you taking time out of your day to apologize, but it doesn’t erase what you did. I can’t forgive nor forget.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I never meant to hurt you.” He weakly repeated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I didn’t think I’d survive.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So what? Was that your only reason to play with my feelings? To hurt me like you did? Because I always thought we would survive, and we did, and I hoped for our fairy-tale ending or whatever it was you promised, but I was apparently delusional.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hermione…I did care about you, I still do. You made me happy, okay? You helped me forget what we were going through, and for that, I’m grateful. But we wouldn’t work out. I don’t love you the way you deserve to be loved.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You love me?” She questioned his affection for obvious reasons. She had never been sure he loved her. She had never been as unsure as she was right now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Draco softly answered, looking as sad as he allowed himself to be. “Not enough.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She grabbed her coat as she spat out: “It wasn’t my job to make you feel alive, Draco. I shouldn’t have had to suffer for you to be happy, that’s not how love works.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She had her answer. She had hoped he would have simply answered that he did love her; she would have grabbed his hands and kissed him until he couldn’t breathe. Even right now, she still wished to do that, but she knew it was too late. Draco Malfoy didn’t want to love her. He didn’t want to spend decades with her, while she had thought she would live and die with him.</p>
<p>When she’ll wake up one day, he’ll have moved on, leaving her behind to marry a pure blood witch his parents would have had chosen for him, because she couldn’t change him. She had tried, between kisses and words of comfort; she had tried, enveloping him in her arms to ease his sobs; but she hadn’t tried hard enough.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hermione didn’t want to be left behind. So, as she was only realizing now, it was time to move on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No matter how much it hurt her, she had to leave her heart in his hands and walk away, letting him crush it just to grab another one, one that would belong to a nice girl, a polite socialite, one that was ready to settle down for him, to put her ambitions aside, to be barely loved by a rich husband she didn’t even love either; Hermione could never have that. Hermione was lucky, but she perhaps thought she wasn’t. She wouldn’t have given up her ambitions for him. Maybe she would have given up herself though.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So she did. She walked away one last time, leaving her heart with him. Waiting for the day she would feel it finally break, when he’ll finally show to the world a girl Hermione would immediately hate, because she had what Hermione had desperately fought for; but nothing she did had been enough. So she would walk. She would walk away from the house, from him, from them. And she could swear she was already feeling something rip in her chest.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, i'm done with this two shot. I really hope you enjoyed it and please comment or leave me some kudos if you did. I'm still improving so don't hesitate if you have anything to say about this work ! I hope you'll read my future ones :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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